To the Editor:

Seems as though we have seen many letters recently criticizing Lewiston Mayor Robert Macdonald for following through on his “Enough is Enough” campaign promises. Are these letter writers mouthpieces for city and state representatives who don’t know how to deal with an honest politician?

It is so refreshing to have an elected official who is not afraid to do what the people who put him in office want. Bob was elected after running a campaign that promised to address the many issues that we are currently confronted with.

These included welfare reform, efforts to increase our tax base, thus lowering property taxes, and the need to change Lewiston’s image to one of pride rather than one of a welfare city.

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To the Editor:

I think the words “Enough is Enough” should be attached to the “Welcome to Lewiston” signs at the entrances of our city.

I wish that Mayor Robert Macdonald could also be police chief and judge, all at the same time. There is no doubt in my mind that Macdonald’s voice of reason is the answer to many of the problems that this community is struggling with.

I would encourage the residents and tax payers of this city to rise up and support the mayor as he continually puts his neck on the chopping block of political correctness. He continually points out the problems of irresponsible immigration policies, welfare abuse, crime and the lay-abouts that litter our streets.

His message is very simple and so needed for times such as this. He wants people to work hard, be polite, volunteer time, be neighborly, live lawfully and take a shower as often as possible. What would be wrong with living in a productive and clean community that is safe for our children to grow up in?

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To the Editor:

Mayor Robert E. Macdonald’s recent antagonistic column “Enough is Enough” makes several unfair and harsh criticisms against Lewiston officials, specifically Sen. Margaret Craven. (“Hold officials accountable for TANF cost shift,” Twin City TIMES, May 31, 2012)

Also, the mayor presents families who rely on TANF in a hostile manner, referring to them as barbarians. TANF is designed as a temporary solution to a substantial problem for a family. During this challenging time of economic recovery, some Mainers may need temporary help to achieve economic stability.

I know that we can’t help it if hard times hit. I also know that Maine people help each other when the going gets tough. The mayor should not be demonizing people or a program that benefits many of his constituents—and our neighbors.

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To the Editor:

The governor wants to enforce the collection of the sales tax on Internet sales. It’s apparently unfair to require in-state businesses to collect sales taxes, while not requiring it from Internet sales.

As a skeptic, I am inclined to believe revenue—not fairness—is the prevailing motive. As Americans, we are culturally inclined to promote fairness, but it is difficult and not always possible.

It was unfair when our in-town stores were placed at a disadvantage by suburban shopping malls; traditional telephone companies have been disadvantaged by the introduction of cell phones.

It isn’t possible, nor is it the proper role of government, to protect businesses from the evolution of progress. Neither is it the role of government to unnecessarily hinder business, which it has done with the imposition of the sales tax.

What the governor is proposing is essentially an additional tax, as if we didn’t already have a sufficient number. Instead of taxing the Internet to help Maine businesses, let’s eliminate the sales tax to help Maine businesses.

Let’s level the taxation field and allow Maine businesses to compete fairly with New Hampshire.

Dick Sabine

Lewiston

To the Editor:

With tongue firmly planted in my cheek, I would like to applaud Lewiston Mayor Bob Macdonald for his keen eye, attention to detail and apparent sense of style.

While I did not attend Lewiston High School’s graduation, I had heard of some minor disruptions and some students (and parents) exhibiting inappropriate behavior.

However, it was not until Mayor Macdonald’s June 7 eloquently penned “Enough is Enough” piece in Twin City TIMES that I found out the perpetrators of this heinous act were “immigrants”, “ingrates”, “unproductive parents” and the poorly dressed, “who looked like they just got off work at the mill.”

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To the Editor:

Governor LePage has a habit of tactless and vehement speech, which has attracted the repeated (and repeated and repeated) attention of Maine’s media. Recently the Blaine House Brute said something so violent, so vile that our journalists and editors can’t even bring themselves to mention it: “A bond is a fancy word for borrowing money the state doesn’t have.”

I don’t bring this to your attention because I approve of such reckless rhetoric. Only because it is self-evidently true. Since the idea seems too complex for many people to grasp, let me try to put it in clearer, more accessible words: “A bond is just a word for borrowing money the state doesn’t have.”

There. Was that any help?

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To the Editor:

Too many lobbyists influence too many legislators who create too many taxes. Taxes are inflicted upon blueberries, potatoes, quahogs, pet food and even milk.

Every product, every activity, is a possible tax candidate. They’ve even considered dairy sperm. They are voracious and, unless controlled, neither we nor our dairy cattle are safe.

Our politicians, like choirboys, have memorized the words and music to the popular refrain: “Let’s reduce taxes.” But they are angelic and rosy-cheeked only when singing. Out of sight, they are mischievously creating or increasing taxes.

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Former Lewiston mayor Larry Gilbert has been invited to serve on a panel at the 2012 U. S. Conference of Catholic Bishops/Migrant and Refugee Services National, which runs from May 9 to 11 in Washington, D.C.

He will serve as a panelist on “Engaging Receiving Communities in Immigrant Integration Plenary,” which will take place on Friday, May 11.

Susan Downs-Karkos, Bates College graduate of Denver, Colorado Welcoming America Initiative, will be the moderator of the panel. In addition to Gilbert, panelists will include Robin Jones of the Office of Refugee Resettlement and Rachel Steinhardt of Welcoming America in Washington, D.C.

The goal of the panel is to help participants: gain a better understanding of the concept of receiving communities and how to apply it to their refugee resettlement work; learn how to engage local leaders in their work; understand the uniqueness of receiving communities; and be motivated to join the receiving communities movement.

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To the Editor:

We have arrived at a place where our legislators see bonds as a necessary component of state government. Resorting to bonds to fund state government might sometimes be absolutely necessary, but usually is not. My own resistance to using bonds is based upon both a concept of how a state should conduct itself and a deep-seated, but ill-defined mistrust of politicians.

Every time we have a bond package, it is persuasively introduced as urgent funding for a noble enterprise. Sometimes, it is the very necessary need to repair roads and bridges. These repairs, we are told, if further delayed, will fester into conditions many times more expensive.

Frequently, the bonds are intended to fund one or more of the various elements of education. Sometimes, this is research, sometimes it’s to repair the university’s infrastructure, but we are usually told that any delay in funding will be imprudent and will have deleterious results. And the most persuasive reason, the one always used, is that if the bonds are authorized, they will create jobs.

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To the Editor:

After hearing a radio news story about the very small decline in gas prices, my seven-year-old son asked, “Dad, why can’t everything just be free?” For a seven-year-old, that is a valid question.

After a quick conversation about how just about every society has a system of trade, barter or currency to aid in the exchange of goods, he was on to other things. As parents of two young boys, we often get questions or comments like the “why can’t everything be free” question. You know, the questions that make sense to ask as a child, the answer often too complicated for the seven-year-old mind to comprehend.

The very next day I found myself with the very same feeling, only it wasn’t my five- or seven-year-old with the comment, it came from the pages of Twin City TIMES. In the April 25 edition of TCT, Lance Dutson, CEO of The Maine Heritage Policy Center, shared the virtues and benefits of eliminating the income tax in Maine.

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